There's Always a Reason
by ilostmyhogwartsletter
Summary: Nearly everyone returns for their final year at Hogwarts. Hermione still doesn't trust Draco though, so what does she do when McGonagall asks her to transfer to Slytherin? Starts with a little Hermione/?. Will be Dramione! AU and slightly OOC
1. A Surprise

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did.

**NOTE: **Snape is alive. The war is over. No Deathly Hallows for the most part.

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><p>"Miss Granger, if I could, I'd like to see you in my office." Headmistress McGonagall called out as Hermione prepared to leave the Great Hall. Tonight was their first night back at Hogwarts since the war ended. Earlier that day, Hermione had been surprised to see a majority of the students from their year had decided to return for the final year. It seemed nearly everyone was back, aside from the tragic few that had been lost during the war. Even the Slytherins reappeared.<p>

Shaking off Harry, Ron, and Ginny, Hermione assured them it probably had something to do with prefect duties and promised she be in the common room shortly. Harry and Ron had been shocked to learn that Hermione hadn't been made Head Girl, instead Hannah Abbott and Blaise Zabini had been given the titles. Hermione chuckled at the worrying glances she was receiving from her two best friends as Ginny dragged them back to the common room. She had changed over the summer and her boys felt it would be best if they took up the role of her protective older brothers. Without the war looming over her, Hermione finally took the time to relax, have fun, and be a girl. Multiple sleepovers with Ginny had taught Hermione how to dress, how to control her hair, and how to do her makeup. Ron and Harry, having spent the summer with Charlie in Romania, were a little more than amazed when they saw her on the train. Yes, the summer had been good to one Hermione Granger.

Completely lost in her thoughts, Hermione had arrived at the Headmistress' office without noticing. Whispering the password, Hermione climbed the spiral staircase and gently knocked on the door.

"Enter." Professor Mcgonagall's rang out. Taking a deep breath, Hermione swung the door open only to see Draco Malfoy standing on the other side.

"Oh sorry Professor, I didn't realize you were in the middle of something. I can come back at another time." Hermione was anxious to get away from Malfoy. He had switched sides during the war, but she had never learned why. It was still unnerving for her to be around him, though Ron and Harry had struck up an unusual truce with the boy.

"Don't be silly Miss Granger. I need to speak to the both of you." Hermione dared to glance quickly at Malfoy, who was looking at her as well. Blushing, she quickly turned to face their Headmistress. "Now, I'm sure you were both shocked at not receiving the positions of Head Boy and Head Girl. You're both the top of your year so usually you would receive the titles. This year though, I need you to do something else. With the war over, you would think that the house rivalries would have ended. Unfortunately though, they have not. Tensions seem to be worse, between your two houses especially." Hermione didn't like this turn in conversation. She had the sinking feeling that she was going to be working with Malfoy a lot more than planned this year. "Tonight is only the first night and I've already broken up two fights and the other Professors have already handed out detentions." Mcgonagall paused to look at the two students in front of her. She prayed to Merlin that what she was about to do wouldn't bring harm to the pair in front of her, but she wasn't crazy enough to pray that much good would come out of it.

"Excuse me," Hermione piped up, "But what exactly are you asking of us?" The poor girl was getting increasingly nervous, wringing her hands and chewing on her bottom lip.

"Well, I'm resorting you Miss Granger. As of tomorrow morning, you are a Slytherin." Trying to ignore the terrified look on the girl's face, the Professor turned to Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, do you know of any girl in your house that would be willing to take Hermione under their wing? You know, get her settled in Slytherin, help her make some new friends." Professor Mcgonagall looked expectantly at Draco, who seemed relatively unfazed by her latest idea.

"Pansy and Daphne both would, I'm sure. Neither girl fought during the war, their families choosing to remain neutral. Besides, she would be sharing a dorm with the two of them." Draco Malfoy was prepared for something along these lines. Professor Snape had already spoken to Draco of the Headmistress's plans.

Hermione was slowly coming out of her shock. She could see where the Headmistress was coming from, even if she didn't like it. Besides, knowing the Pansy and Daphne were neutral during the war helped. Though she hated to admit it, Malfoy had matured over the past year so perhaps she could handle this. Squaring her shoulders, Hermione decided. She was going to be a Slytherin.

After a bit of convincing on her part, Hermione managed to persuade McGonagall in allowing her to remain in Gryffindor tower for just tonight, before she made the transfer first thing tomorrow morning. She had to find a way to tell her boys.

After finalizing the details, McGonagall left Draco and Hermione in her office to speak about their situation before the pair headed back to their respective dorms.

"Well Granger it-" Draco began,

"Hermione." She interrupted quietly. She didn't speak again for a moment as Draco looked at her quizzically. "If this is going to work, and if I am going to be a Slytherin, I want to at least feel like I'm welcome. Surely I will not get that feeling if you all go around calling me Granger."

Nodding, Draco continued his previous statement. "Well _Hermione_" he paused, as if tasting her name on his tongue, "I will meet you outside the Gryffindor common room before breakfast tomorrow morning. That way, we can get you moved completely before we have to go to class. I'll bring Daphne along with me, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get Pansy up. She's never been much of a morning person." Draco fell silent, waiting for Hermione to accept or even acknowledge his plan, but it seemed she had become lost in her thoughts.

'I can kind of see where Harry and Ron were coming from when they formed their truce with him.' She couldn't help but stare at the man sitting in front of her. He was so much different than the boy who had tormented her for 6 years. 'I still can't help but wonder what prompted his change in heart during the war. No one just up and switches for no reason. There has to be something there...' Hermione was abruptly pulled from her thoughts as a hand gently touched her shoulder. Draco was looking at her expectantly and Hermione wondered how long she'd been staring off into space.

"Tomorrow morning sounds wonderful." She nearly whispered the words, hardly believing what she was saying. She had merely a few hours to convince Ron and Harry that she was doing the right thing. "Goodnight Draco." She called after the blonde boy as he left the Headmistress's office.

"Goodnight Hermione." Draco smiled at her before turning and closing the door behind him. Hermione simply sat there for a moment, never before having seen Draco smile. It had always been some form of a smirk- cruel, sarcastic, and cold. But his smile, it was the complete opposite. What scared Hermione though, what that is seemed real.


	2. A Reaction

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did.

**NOTE: **Snape is alive. The war is over. No Deathly Hallows for the most part.

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><p>After she left the Headmistress's office, Hermione walked back to the common room in a daze. It wasn't so much the transfer that was bothering her. During the war she had become friends with Blaise Zabini so she already had one friend. No, it was convincing Ron and Harry that would be difficult. With the boys need to protect her this year, surely they were going to flip when she gave them the news.<p>

Entering the common room, Hermione decided she needed to tell Ginny first. That way, when telling the boys, she wouldn't be outnumbered. Rushing past the boys, Hermione grabbed Ginny and dragged her up to the dorms. Thankfully, they were empty giving Hermione the perfect opportunity to explain.

Quickly, Hermione spilled all of the details to Ginny. Her friend took the news well and much better than expected. Ginny understood and was completely supportive. During the war, while Hermione has been stationed with Blaise, Ginny had been stationed with Draco. Though she knew Hermione didn't trust Draco fully quite yet, she was confident that should would be safe under his watch. Together, the girls formed a plan for breaking the news to the boys. Hermione was all of not telling them, just to see how long it would take for one of them to notice her absence, but that idea was quickly shot down with a glare from her redheaded friend.

"Just be blunt. And honest." Ginny whispered in Hermione's ear as they headed back into the common room. Two anxious and unhappy boys were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for the girls. Rolling their eyes, both girls giggled at the sight of them. It was ridiculous really. You would think they'd been gone for ages.

"Well?" Ron piped up. "What did she want?" Ron was just impatient for the details, while Harry watched Hermione carefully, searching for some sign that she was- or had been- upset.

"I won't be staying in the Gryffindor tower this year." Hermione skirted around the whole truth for the moment, ignoring the glare she was receiving from Ginny. As much as she had planned to just come out and tell her boys, it was harder now that she was facing the two protective young men.

"I knew it! I knew there had to be a mix up." Ron exclaimed. Noticing the confused looks her was receiving he explained, "well obviously. You're the best in the whole school 'Mione. It was a shock for you to not get Head Girl. So tell me, how'd Hannah take it?" Hermione continued to look at Ron like he had grown two heads.

"You can't be serious?" Ginny laughed. Clearly, she found Ron's theory much more amusing than he planned. Glaring at his sister, he turned to Harry.

"You understand, don't you mate?" Ron was desperate for someone to understand. He didn't think his idea was _that _outrageous.

"Well actually..." Harry began sheepishly. "Even if there had been some sort of mistake, McGonagall would never have forced Hannah to give up a position she'd already been awarded." Before Ron had a chance to argue and defend his flawed theory, Hermione plucked up her Gryffindor courage and burst back into the conversation.

"I've been resorted!" She cried out. Effectively silencing her two best friends. "Into Slytherin." She finished, much quieter than her previous statement. Hermione silently cursed herself as her voice wavered. 'So much for bloody courage,' she thought to herself.

Ron looked at Hermione as if she'd grown two extra heads before standing, turning away from her, and heading into his dorm room. Hermione's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach as she watched him walk away before turning to the raven haired boy still sitting in front of her.

"Harry?" She whispered. Tears began to fill her eyes as he remained stoic before. Not moving, and not uttering a word. She thought she could see the conflicting emotions in his eyes, but nothing that she could truly interpret. Finally he looked to the ground and Hermione felt her heart break. He wasn't going to accept it either.

"How could you agree to something like this?" He asked her sadly, sounding as heart-broken as she was feeling. "How could you agree to become one of them?" This time, when he looked back up at her, she could read the emotions swimming in his green eyes. Only one really stood out to her though, betrayal. Hermione could feel her temper growing. Betrayal, really?

"How _dare _you!" She cried. "_You _were the one preaching to me all summer. Accept _bloody Draco Malfoy_. Why couldn't I see the good he had done? Why couldn't I see how he had changed? Well guess what Harry? I'm seeing it! I'm accepting it!" Hermione's voice continued to raise in volume drawing the attention of the few students lingering in the common room. "And yet, you have the _balls _to make me feel guilty about it! Are you out of your bloody mind? I can not believe the nerve of you," She paused, whipping around to see the redhead who had ventured down from the dorms after hearing her screaming, "_Both of you_!" In a flurry of curls Hermione furiously made her way back to her dorms. Closing her bed curtains and casting a silencing spell to prevent anyone, even Ginny, from bothering her again tonight.

"You've bloody well done it now!" Ginny hissed at the two boys. "Her last night in Gryffindor and you had to go and piss her off." Flowing in Hermione's example, Ginny turned on her heel and stormed up the stairs to her dorm.

Ron and Harry simply stared at the empty space where the girls had stood. For a few moments, the boys were in shock as to what had transpired.

"Oh bloody hell." Ron murmured before heading back up to his dorm. Realizing there was no way to fix the situation until the morning, Harry followed in suit. He knew he would need a good nights sleep in order to fix everything.

Little did he know, Hermione would be packed and gone before he even thought about getting out of bed the following morning.

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><p><strong>AN: **Sorry if this chapter is a little rushed. It was necessary to transition into the next chapter, I promise. Also, reviews are nice, but flames are not. This is my very first attempt at fanfiction... ever. Every little piece of advice helps. :)


	3. The transition

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did.

**A/N: **Remember, this is slightly AU and slightly OOC. OH! And I am American... sorry if some of the dialogue isn't how they would actually talk.

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><p>The following morning, Hermione rose before the sun. With a flick of her wand the few belongings she had unpacked made their way back into her trunk. Grabbing her outfit for the day and her toiletries bag she headed into the bathrooms. After a quick shower, Hermione spelled her hair dry before straightening it. She applied a bit of gray eyeshadow, black eye liner, and mascara. Hermione slipped on her clothes and looked at her appearance in the mirror. For her first day in Slytherin she wanted to look her best. Once she was all ready, she turned to look in the full length mirror hanging behind her. When she straightened her hair it fell halfway down her back and the makeup she had applied really brought out her eyes. Her outfit for the day was one of her favorites- dark skinny jeans, gray knee-high boots, and an emerald green sweater that showed just the slightest bit of cleavage.<p>

Satisfied with how she looked, Hermione made her way back to her room. Shrinking her trunk, Hermione slipped down the stairs. Thankfully, no one was up yet in the common room as she excited through the portrait whole for the last time. Waiting for her on the other side of the portrait whole was Draco, Daphne, and Blaise. Hermione never realized how ecstatic she would be to see someone she was already friends with. She ran forward, throwing her arms around Blaise's neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground with his hug. When he set Hermione back on the ground, she remained wrapped around him with her head on his chest. Pushing her away just enough to see her face, Blaise looked down and the petite girl in front of him.

"Mya," He looked at her knowingly. "What did they do this time?" The dark Slytherin knew her way to well and she silently cursed him before answering.

"Well I guess you could say I've officially cut off ties with the Gryffindors." Her eyes filled with the tears she had refused to cry the night before.

"_La mia bella ragazza,_" Blaise whispered into her hair, pulling her close. "Tell me what they did, love." Blaise hated to see Hermione in pain, and too many times had he seen her pained caused by the two idiots she called best friends.

"They hate me. Ron wouldn't speak to me after I told him, and Harry," thinking of Harry, she felt her anger bubling to the surface once again, "Harry had the nerve to get mad at me! Like I was betraying him! He was the first one out of all of us to befriend any of you." Hermione was literally shaking with her anger. She just wanted to scream, preferably at Harry again.

"Well you're getting a good start as a Slytherin," Blaise joked. "You're already fighting with the Gryffindorks." Laughing at Blaise, Hermione momentarily forgot about her anger. She turned to Draco,

"So. I take it you couldn't get Pansy out of bed?" Hermione asked knowingly.

"Oh merlin," Daphne exclaimed, "She's already got a smirk like yours Drake." Hermione blushed at that, convinced she did not have a Slytherin smirk.

"What did I tell you about calling me Drake?" He rolled his eyes at Daphne before turning back to Hermione. "Of course we couldn't. Pansy will be lucky if she's out of bed in time to get to class this week. She's just lucky that she has potions first period." Draco carefully watched the pair in front of him. Blaise was his best mate, and while Draco knew of his friendship with the girl, he apparently didn't know just how close the pair was. Draco definitely had not missed the nickname, or the affectionate italian Blaise had used to adress her. He also didn't miss the fact that the two were still wrapped up in each other. As Hermione noticed Draco watching them, he simply raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. Blushing once again, she untangled herself from Blaise quickly. She walked past Draco, bumping him with her shoulder as she passed.

"You must be Daphne." Hermione said as she reached the tall, willowy girl. "Since Draco is being such a _good host _I'll introduce myself. I'm Hermione. You can call me 'Mione, Hermione, or pretty much anything besides Hermie." Both girls laughed at the horrid nickname she'd been given by Ron a couple years back.

"What about Mya?" Draco asked, still smirking. Hermione chose to ignore the blonde boy and turned with Daphne to walk down to the dungeons.

"I'm the only one who calls her Mya." Blaise informed Draco darkly. Chuckling at Blaise's over protective reaction, Draco followed the girls to the dungeons.

When they reached the dungeons, Professor Snape was waiting to greet the group. Nodding his greeting the Professor pulled Draco off the the side to speak with him. Hermione couldn't help but stare after the pair. She had rarely seen Snape act so, well, normal. It was definitely different.

"You get used to it." Daphne said pulling Hermione from her thoughts. "Snape is Draco's godfather, so they have their little moments every so often. What's really weird is when Snape gets all caring and affectionate with Draco. He usually makes sure we don't see that side of him though." Daphne explained to Hermione laughing. Earning a slight glare for the Head of House, the giggling girls headed up to the dorm they shared with Pansy. Tiptoeing around the sleeping girl, Daphne showed Hermione to her bed and helped her unpack before heading back down to the common room. Snape was waiting not so patiently for the pair to return. Hermione looked to Daphne who just shrugged and turned back to their Professor.

"Yes sir?" Hermione asked quitely. Unsure of what her new Head of House wanted from her. Snape handed his newest student a pile of clothes. Hermione noticed it was her new uniform. 'Thank merlin I look good in green.' Hermione thought to herself, looking at the tie and robes.

"There's your uniform, and here is your time table for this year." Snape handed her a piece of paper as well. "I trust I don't need to remind you that you will sit with the Slytherins in lessons, and at meals. No running back to your Gryffindors."

Snorting, Hermione looked at the dark man in front of her. "Oh believe me sir, that won't be a problem." Nodding once more at the group surrounding them, Snape turned and left the common room, his robes billowing around him.

By now, a few Slytherins were making their way into the common room on their way to breakfasst. Spotting Hermione Granger in their common room was more than a little shocking for the other students. Hermione couldn't help but noticed she got just as many death glares as she did confused stares. Blaise wrapped his arm around her shoulders protectively as he and Draco glared back at the younger students. The glares worked quite effectively, not a single student dared approach their newest housemate. Instead they were left to wonder amongst themselves as to what the Gryffindor princess was doing in their common room.

Rolling her eyes at the waste of a good outfit, Hermione hurried up to her dorm to change into her new Slytherin robes. As soon as she was done, the four of them headed to the Great Hall. This morning, Professor McGonagall would announce Hermione's resorting, and Hermione just couldn't wait to hear what rumors were stirred up.

Entering the Great Hall, Hermione could tell that word had already leaked that she was no longer a Gryffindor. A surprising large number of Gryffindors were glaring at her while the Slytherins were still just looking at her confused. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs didn't appear to know yet, but the sight of one Hermione Granger entering the Great Hall on the arm of Blaise Zabini flanked by Draco and Daphne would surely stir some things up.

The four students headed over the the Slytherin table. There was an empty spot in the middle of the table where the groud sat confidently. Hermione figured this was Draco's spot and apparently switching sides during the war had done nothing to strip him of his Slytherin King title. The Great Hall had been buzzing since the group walked through the doors but the buzzing seemed to double as the rest of the student body took notice of Hermione's Slytherin tie. Even the death glares from Draco and Blaise were doing little to silence the gossiping, staring, nosey students from the other houses. It wasn't long before McGonagall noticed the growing comotion and stood, effectively silencing the Great Hall.

"As you may have noticed, Miss Granger is not sitting with her fellow Gryffindors today. As of last night, she has been resorted into Slytherin house. I ask that you leave her be. Thank you." McGonagall sat back down and turned to her breakfast. Hermione was shocked, she wasn't going to explain at all? Now Hermione was going to be forced to handle the whole thing on her own. Clearly upset, she excused herself from her friends with the excuse that she needed to use the library. Rushing out of the Great Hall, Hermione took no notice of buzz that had started up behind her once again.

When she was nearly to the library she heard a familiar group of voices around the corner. Hermione froze as soon as they mentioned her name.

"Well she probably became Draco's whore while he was staying at Headquarters this summer. She was just pretending to not like him so we wouldn't grow suspicious." It was Ron and Hermione couldn't believe that he would accuse her of such things.

"Yeah, I bet she just couldn't stand to be away from him. They probably thought it would be too much work to sneak around from different common rooms." This time Harry spoke, breaking Hermione's heart a little bit more with every word that came out of his mouth.

"But she was on Zabini's arm this morning, not Malfoy's." Hermione was glad to hear Seamus sticking up for her, in a way at least. "The stupid slut," He contiued, dashing Hermione's hopes. "They probably just pass her around. She'll be with Nott next week." The group laughed and continued walking further away from Hermione.

She was frozen in her spot against the wall even after the groups' voices faded into silence. Tears streamed down her face as she sank to the ground, clutching her knees to her chest. She couldn't believe they would think those things of her. Why hadn't Ginny set them straight, she was the only Gryffindor who knew the entire story. She was the only one who could fix this.

After about 15 minutes, Hermione could hear another set of familiar voices coming towards her. This time though it was Draco, Blaise, and Daphne. Not wanting them to see her upset, Hermione stood and ducked into a small unused corridor, hoping the shadows would hide her completely. Unfortunately she hadn't moved fast enough. Blaise caught sight of her as she ducked around the corner and quickly followed her. Confused, the other two Slytherins followed in suit. They found Hermione sitting on the floor in the corner, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Blaise immidiately kneeled down beside her and pulled the distraught girl into his arms.

"_Il mio amore, per favore non piangere. _Shhh Mya, it'll be alright. I'm here now," Blaise whispered to the crying girl, "I'm here now." Blaise pulled Hermione into his lap as she burried her face in his shoulder. He slowly rocked the girl in his lap continue to whisper italian words of affection and comfort in her ear.

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><p><strong>Translations: <strong>_ La mia bella ragazza: _My beautiful girl

_Il mio amore, per favore non piangere: _My love, please don't cry.


	4. Why?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did.

**A/N: **I know I've made this seem more like a Blaise/Hermione story so far. I promise it will be Dramione... you'll start seeing little bits of it soon.

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><p>Watching Blaise hold their newest Slytherin, Draco began to get pissed. McGonagall had asked Hermione to be resorted not only to create house unity, but to break the stereotype set with Slytherin. Every single one of the Slytherins had been dragged through the mud, whether they had done anything to deserve it or not.<p>

Daphne knelt down and began to rub soothing circles on Hermione's back as her sobs began to subside. Draco could feel his blood began to boil. This girl was a war hero. She was one of the most loved students here last night and yet, here she is, crying on the floor because she wanted to do something good. What had her bloody friends done now?

Since everything that had happened during the war, Draco had become a very level headed person- not letting his emotions get the best of him. Yet for some reason, as he watched on of the strongest girls he knew, crying in an abandoned corridor, he couldn't control his anger. He wanted nothing more than to beat whoever had hurt her to a bloody pulp. Attempting to shake it off, Draco chalked it up to being protective over their newest Slytherin.

"Blaise," Draco began, seeing as Hermione had stopped crying, "let's take her back to the common room." Nodding, Blaise stood, scooping the petite girl up in his arms.

"Daphne, could you go tell Snape we may not be in his class this morning?" Daphne too, agreed with Draco and headed off to find the Potions Master.

"Blaise. Put me down." The boys, who thought Hermione had fallen asleep, started at the sound of her voice. "I'm not going to let you carry me to the dungeons. It will only make things worse." Seeing the hurt look from Blaise, Hermione felt bad about the ice in her voice as she said that, none of this was his fault. "I'm sorry, but I'll explain everything in the common room." Blaise gently set her down, but wrapped his arm around her protectively. Hermione could tell by the look on his face that he wouldn't be letting go of her any time soon.

Hermione wiped her eyes, making sure all traces of her tears were gone. Flanked by both boys, the group headed down to the dungeons. Hermione kept her head down, but her proud companions were drawing enough attention on their own. Hermione could hear the harsh whispers following her.

_ "Would you look at her. Always with two boys. Coincidence?" "The Silver trio? I can't believe she's abandoning Ron and Harry for those two." _As wrong at the rumors were, they still stung. Every harsh word, every new theory, tore at Hermione's heart a little bit more. They just couldn't get to the common room soon enough.

Finally though they made it. The two boys lead Hermione to one of the couches in front of the fireplace and a glare from Draco managed to clear out the few students in the common room. Sitting on the couch, curled up between the two boys, Hermione watched them turn to her expectantly, both waiting to hear her tale. Figuring it would be best if they had all the details, Hermione started with her conversations the night before- both with Ginny and the boys. She then proceeded to tell them what she had overheard just earlier today along with the whispers floating around her as she goes anywhere.

The boys couldn't understand it. How was it possible for almost the entire school to hate a girl they had all loved and even idolized less than 24 hours before. There was something else going on, some reasoning that the Slytherins were unaware of. Glancing at the clock, Draco noticed they had fifteen minutes before potions started. Potions with the Gryffindors. Standing, Draco stormed out of the common room without another word. Hermione stared after him, hurt and confused. She decided that he was sick of her already. Blaise simply watched his friend with a knowing look on his face. Turning to Hermione, Blaise saw the hurt and confusion written on her face.

"Don't worry Mya. He isn't upset with you," Blaise smirked at the small girl "he's upset with the people who are hurting you. I've known Draco since we were babies. He cares about you Mya, and while that is going to confuse him, he won't question it until he gets what he wants." Blaise could see the conflicting emotions dance across her face.

"And what does he want?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"You're happiness of course, Mya." Blaise chuckled as he watched the blatant disbelieve show on her face. She simply raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for Blaise to elaborate. "I know Draco, potentially better than anyone else does. He cares about you and your happiness. I think on some level he has for a while now. He's just as stubborn as you are love, so it will probably be ages before he admits to you, me, or even himself."

"If he's so concerned with my happiness, why did he leave when I was so clearly upset?" Hermione looked smug now, sure that her argument was infallible.

"Well Mya," Blaise smirked, "think about it." He looked at the clock to give her a bit of a hint. Hermione too turned to face the clock. Her face paled when she noticed the time.

"He wouldn't!" She gasped, eyes wide as she turned to look at Blaise.

"Oh but Mya, he would. He wants you to be happy, and your little friends are the ones causing your pain. Don't worry, he won't get himself in too much trouble. He'll probably just threaten them this time." Blaise could see he was doing little to calm Hermione's nerves. Their little Gryffindor turned Slytherin seemed to care about Draco nearly as much as Draco cared about her.

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><p>Outside the door of the potions classroom, Draco was waiting quite impatiently for the stupid Gryffindorks to arrive. Moments later he saw them rounding the corner, rushing not to be late to class.<p>

"Potter!" Draco called out. Harry froze, Draco hadn't called him Potter since they had made their truce during the war. "Weasel." Draco scoffed at the scruffy redhead beside Harry. "What in the bloody hell do you think you've been up? You two were friends with Slytherins before she was! How in the hell could you cause her so much pain! I swear to Merlin, if you make her cry one more time, you won't get the opportunity again. I will hunt you down and curse you within an inch of your life." Draco lowered his voice to a dangerously low level before continuing. "You'll do well not to forget that while I fought for the light side, I was raised by a very dark man. My knowledge of the dark arts is extensive. I've done everything to make sure I didn't use that knowledge but if you continue to hurt her, I may have to." With that, Draco turned to walk away from the two shocked boys before Harry called out.

"Why do you even care?" Draco hesitated because he didn't really know that answer himself. He wasn't about to admit that to Harry though.

"Why do I care? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that without her we wouldn't have even won the bloody war! A day ago, everyone her loved her, and you two have been her best friends for eight bloody years now! And yet, because of you and the she-weasley, the entire school has turned against her and believes she's a whore. So why do I care, because she deserves to have someone who cares about her. She's worth it." Draco stormed away from the pair, leaving them to realize the damage they had caused.

The bell rang, signaling the start of their first lesson. The two Gryffindors cursed before stepping into the classroom, preparing for a loss of house points. What they weren't prepared for was an angrier than usual potions master, who gave them a month of detentions for "being complete dunderheads who apparently think the world revolves around them now that the war is over."

It seemed that Draco wasn't the only Slytherin upset with the two Gryffindors.

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><p>Back in the common room, Draco was trying to convince Hermione that he hadn't harmed the boys, though she seemed more worried about him ending up in trouble. Draco felt pride swell in his chest as the beautiful girl worried about him. While he wasn't exactly sure why he cared, he knew he did. It helped to see that she cared as well. Finally Draco had her convinced that he hadn't done a single thing that would warrant a detention, it hadn't even been his fault they were late for class! Luckily, she didn't ask what he had said to the two boys. Draco knew she wouldn't approve of how he had handled it, but he also didn't know if he could lie to her.<p>

Unfortunately as Draco calmed the worried girl, Daphne and Pansy came through the portrait hole. Potions was over and it finally occurred to Hermione that she had skipped out on her very first class of the year. Even more so, she had skipped Snape's class. Surely she'd have detentions for the rest of the year.

"Oh shut it Granger." Pansy started to snap, but a harsh look from Draco silenced her immediately.

"I do believe that what Pansy is trying to say is Snape's not upset with you. Besides your a Slytherin now." Daphne smirked, apparently it was something every Slytherin could do. "He does wish to speak to you though. He has a free period now, if you do." Draco watched Hermione pale considerably. It was understandable, Snape hadn't exactly made her life easy during the years before.

"I can walk there with you Mia." Hermione raised an eyebrow at the new nickname. "What? Don't like it?" Draco teased. "Because Blaise already informed me that only he can call you Mya." Laughing Hermione just shook her head.

"Surprisingly, I like it. A lot. But if you get to call me Mia, I get to call you Dragon." Draco smiled at Hermione and pulled her close.

"Of course Mia. I'd love to be your Dragon." Draco watched a pretty blush spread over Hermione's cheeks and made a mental note to cause that reaction more often.

"Well I'd better go talk to Professor Snape." Hermione rushed out of the common room, confused and embarrassed by her reaction to Draco. When she first said it, she hadn't realized how intimate her new nickname for Draco had sounded. Draco simply chuckled as he watched the girl run away from him.

"Mate," Blaise said, drawing Draco's attention, "I swear to Merlin, if you hurt her the Malfoy line will never be continued." Draco stared blankly at Blaise.

"That is something you never have to worry about." Draco muttered darkly before stalking off after Hermione. He could wait outside of Snape's office for Hermione to finish, then maybe convince her to take a walk around the lake with him. Surely Snape would write them off of their lessons for the day. Draco just needed some time.


	5. Mixed Signals

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did.

**A/N: **Thank you so much to all of my reviewers. I get so excited reading your reviews, and I'm glad you like the story so far. :) Reading your reviews motivates me to crank out another chapter. So now we're getting a bit of Dramione showing through. Whoop Whoop!

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><p>Hermione knocked on the door leading to Professor Snape's office and immediately heard the dark silky voice of him call out, granting her entrance. She slowly entered his office, gently closing the door behind her.<p>

"You wanted to see me Professor?" Hermione cursed herself. Her voice was small and shaky, something about this man still frightened her.

"Yes. Miss Granger, what are you planning on doing after graduation?" Hermione visibly relaxed. It was just one of _those _conversations. She wasn't in trouble for skipping his class this morning or anything.

"Well, I was thinking about becoming a healer or maybe apprenticing in a certain subject." Professor Snape studied the student in front of him, waiting for her to elaborate. "I was hoping maybe to study potions, actually. To become a potions mistress." Suddenly the floor was very interesting to Hermione. She was sure that Professor Snape would laugh at her. He was the best Potions Master in Europe so if she were to begin an apprenticeship it would be with him.

"Good." Hermione's head snapped up to look at her professor. Good? "That's why I wanted to see you. McGonagall had informed me that you had shown interest in potions in the past. Since you still have that interest, would you like to start extra lessons? Helping me brew potions for the hospital wing and for St. Mungo's, helping with some of the younger classes when you can, and learning some more advanced potions. If all goes well, after graduation you can begin your apprenticeship." Hermione was ecstatic. She never even dared to hope that Professor Snape would be willing to help her with this but now that she had the chance, she wasn't going to question it. Agreeing immediately, the two quickly agreed on some minor details before Hermione was excused from Snape's office. Thanking him, Hermione opened the door only to find Draco standing on the other side.

"Dragon!" Hermione exclaimed. "I have the greatest news to share with you!" Hermione had hoped to tell Blaise her news first, but with Draco here she could feel it begin to burst out of her.

"And I can't wait to hear it, but I need to talk to Snape." Draco brushed past Hermione, entering Snape's office and closing the door behind him. Hurt and confused, Hermione headed back to the common room. 'I'll just share my news with someone who cares.' Hermione thought to herself as she walked back.

Entering the common room, Hermione saw Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, and Theodore Nott sitting around the fireplace. Though she was a little hurt by Draco, she wasn't going to let him ruin her day. A huge smile began to form on her face as she made her way to the couches.

"Hey Mya, this is Theo. Theo, you know Hermione." Theodore smiled at Hermione as she sat down on one of the green couches.

"So 'Mione. What has you looking like a child on Christmas morning?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Well, you know how I had a meeting with Snape?" The group around her, minus Theodore, nodded in response. "He asked about what I was planning to do after graduation. I figured it was just going to be one of the pointless conversations I'd had with McGonagall last year but it wasn't." Hermione paused here, just to make sure everyone was listening. "He offered me an apprenticeship once I graduate!" Hermione was ecstatic and so were her friends. Immediately they began congratulating her.

"That's amazing Mya. Since I'm head boy and I can go to hogsmeade whenever, so how about this weekend we go out to lunch and celebrate?" Hermione scooted down the couch to hug Blaise, glad that some people were as excited as she was. Hermione's good mood was once again ruined as Draco walked through the portrait hole and made his way to the group. Blaise was the only one who noticed the way her smile fell, before coming back just as wide as before. The only difference was that this time the smile was fake.

"Mia. What was it you wanted to tell me? What is this big news?" Draco asked, smiling at Hermione.

"Oh don't worry about it Malfoy, it was nothing important. You know, I'm feeling a little tired. I think I'll go take a nap." With that, Hermione stood from the couch and practically ran to her room. Draco looked around at the others, they all seemed just as confused as he was.

"Jeez Draco, when did you become Malfoy again?" Daphne asked. It had been ages since Hermione had called him Malfoy and recently she'd taken to calling him Dragon, her special nickname for him.

"What the hell did you do Draco?" Blaise asked angrily. Draco promised not to hurt Hermione, and it appeared he was already breaking his promise. "I'm going to go talk to her." As head boy, Blaise was able to enter the girls dormitories so he walked off to get an explanation from the newest Slytherin.

"Mya?" Blaise called out. He walked into her dorm only to find the small girl curled up on the window seat, staring out over the grounds. "What's the matter Mya?" Blaise asked gently as he sat beside her on the seat.

"I don't know why it bothers me so much. I mean, it shouldn't. I guess I just thought things had changed." Hermione whispered. Her cryptic wording wasn't giving Blaise any clues as to what had happened between her and the blonde boy sitting downstairs.

"What are you talking about love? What bothers you?" Blaise wanted nothing more than to make Hermione feel better. She was already getting enough trouble from the rest of the school, she didn't need it from the few friends she had found this year.

"It's Draco." Hermione started sadly. "He was waiting outside of Snape's office after my meeting with him. He looked like he was about to say something to me but I cut him off. I was just so excited, I had to tell someone my news. Well he completely brushed me off and didn't care about my news. He just walked into Snape's office and shut the door behind him, leaving me alone in the hall. My mood officially ruined." Hermione looked at Blaise, waiting for him to tell her how ridiculous she was being. Instead he just pulled her closer to him. It was a few more moments before he started to speak.

"I thought he was going to see you though, not Snape." Blaise muttered, more to himself than to Hermione. "Don't let it bother you Mya. As for why it bothers you, maybe it's because you were just starting to become friends with him. You care about him Mya." Hermione shook her head, laughing a little as Blaise moved his head to avoid her flying hair.

"I just thought things had changed. I thought I mattered, but I guess I'll always just be the nerdy muggleborn. He doesn't want to be friends. At this point I feel like he's only trying to be my friend because he has to." Blaise sighed, Hermione was way off base. If anything, Draco wanted to be more than friends. Leave it to him though to convince her otherwise.

"Oh Mya." Blaise hugged her even tighter. "You do matter. You are my family, and to me, you mean so much." Hermione looked up at Blaise smiling.

"You mean the world to me Blaise." Hermione was determined not to let Draco's mixed signals bother her. She had other friends, and that was good enough for her. "Let's go to dinner." Hermione hopped down from the window seat and bounded down the stairs, followed close behind by a laughing Blaise.

"Girls." He muttered to himself. He would never understand their ever-changing moods. As the group headed to the Great Hall, Hermione pointedly ignored Draco. Choosing instead to walk between Daphne and Theo, leaving Pansy, Draco, and Blaise behind them.

"Well she certainly looks happy." Draco pointed out darkly. His eyes narrowed as he watched her laugh at something Theo had said.

"She is." Blaise said. He wasn't incredibly impressed with the way Draco was handling things with Hermione. The boy was just as moody and confusing as the entire lot of teenage girls at Hogwarts. Draco turned to Blaise waiting for him to explain. "You upset her, mate. She's convinced herself that you don't care about her at all and are only becoming friends with her because you have to."

"Why in the hell does she think that?" Draco exclaimed. Pansy shushed him quickly, not wanting to draw the attention of the group ahead of them.

"Draco, she is so hesitant to trust anyone. She doesn't become friends with people at the drop of a hat anymore. I mean, look around! The entire bloody school has turned on her, including the two people she used to trust with her life." Blaise was so frustrated with the blind boy in front of him. How could he be so dense. "You can't just brush her off like she's nothing. When you do that, that's exactly how she feels- like nothing." Draco looked down guiltily as he began to understand. He shouldn't have snapped at her this morning. She had been who he was going to see in the first place. "You'll have to work a whole lot harder to get back in her good graces this time." Blaise and Pansy hurried to catch up to the other three, leaving Draco to his thoughts. When Draco finally joined them at dinner, the only spot open wasn't anywhere near Hermione. He knew that wasn't just a coincidence.


	6. An Admirer

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did. Nope, that honor belongs to one J.K. Rowling. I'm merely playing with her creation.

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><p>The next few weeks went by without incident. Hermione was spending most of her time with Blaise, and when she wasn't with him she was with Theo and Daphne. She had developed a close friendship with those two. She also began her extra lessons with Snape. The potions master was quickly becoming like a father figure to her. Since Hermione was unable to find her parents after the war, she had needed someone to support her and she was beginning to find that in Professor Snape.<p>

Recently though, Blaise was becoming overwhelmingly busy with his Head Boy duties and Hermione found herself unable to get any time with him. She didn't blame him of course, she just missed him. Instead of relaxing with her friends during her free periods, Hermione started helping Snape whenever he had a class of first or second years. Hermione found herself spending less and less time with her friends, and more and more time on her own.

One night, Hermione walked into the Great Hall for dinner and spotted Blaise at the staff table talking to Headmistress McGonagall. Hermione looked around for Hannah Abbott, the Head Girl, but she was no where to be seen. Shrugging, Hermione headed over to the Slytherin table. At this point, it seemed meals were the only time she was actually spending with her friends. After helping herself to whatever stew was sitting in front of her, Hermione looked up to find an angry Blaise headed her way.

"What's going on with you Hermione." She visibly flinched as Blaise reverted to using her full name. It had been nearly 6 months since he had started calling her Mya.

"What are you talking about Blaise?" Now honestly Hermione knew exactly what Blaise was talking about, but she certainly wasn't about to admit it.

"You have been secluding yourself from everyone. Why?" Blaise's anger was already starting to evaporate, turning quickly into worry for his friend. Over the past year, Hermione had become like a sister to him, he didn't want her feeling alone.

"I've just felt like you've all been too busy for me. I didn't want to complain though. So I just threw myself into my studies like I did when Harry and Ron didn't have time for me." Hermione smiled at Blaise sadly. It still hurt for her to talk about Harry and Ron. While the rest of the school had gotten over her becoming a Slytherin, her boys still had not. It seemed everyone else realized how ridiculous the rumors about her being a whore were, unfortunately the two Gryffindors were incredibly stubborn.

"Oh Mya. You don't ever have to worry about us being too busy for you. Next time just say something. I'll always have time for you." Blaise smiled at Hermione.

"You could always hang out with Draco too, 'Mione." Daphne stated carefully. Hermione had began calling him Draco again, but their friendship was still on very thin ice.

"I suppose." Hermione replied quietly before turning back to her dinner. Daphne sighed, but didn't push the subject. She did glance quickly at Pansy. She knew better than anyone how much this strained friendship was affecting Draco. In an attempted to end the awkward silence that had fallen over the group, Daphne spoke up again.

"So 'Mione. Do you want to go into Hogsmeade with Pansy and I this weekend? We're going to go look for dresses. The Halloween Ball is right around the corner you know." Daphne adored shopping, and she really wanted Hermione to help her pick out a dress that would make her look great.

"Yeah Hermione. All three of us need a dress and we want your opinion on ours." Pansy wasn't as close to Hermione as Daphne, but they were getting there. The two had more bad blood to overcome than Daphne and Hermione had.

"I'd love to go with your guys but I'm not sure if I'll be needing a dress. I don't even know if I'll be going to the dance." Hermione answered nonchalantly. She avoided the eyes of her friends as they grew wide. Blaise on the other hand just smirked. Pansy noticed Blaise's smirk and elbowed him firmly in the side.

"Why wouldn't you be going to the dance?" Pansy asked. Everyone was going it seemed. Blaise had even asked some sixth year Ravenclaw.

"Well, I certainly can't go by myself. Now can I? And seeing as no one has asked me by now, I doubt anyone will." Hermione tried to make it seem like it was no big deal, but everyone could tell it bothered her. How could it not? She was feeling unwanted, unpopular, and ugly.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Blaise said, still smirking. Hermione's eyes grew wide as she whipped around to look at him.

"What are you talking about Blaise?" Hermione asked sweetly, hoping her puppy dog eyes would get some information out of him.

"Don't you look at me like that Mya. I'm just saying, don't be so sure no one is going to ask you. I may have heard of some plans in line." Hermione could tell from the way Blaise was looking at her that she wasn't getting any other information out of him. Hermione finished dinner with a huge smile on her face, unaware that she was being watched from across the Great Hall. Her admirer just hoped Blaise hadn't given too much away.

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><p>The next day, Hermione waited for someone sign or clue as to who Blaise was talking about. After her first few classes though, Hermione realized she needed to concentrate on her studies, not on some unknown boy. After telling Professor Snape she had a project she needed to work on, Hermione made her way to the library during her free period. Hermione settled into her usual table and pulled out her books. She had a huge essay due in Transfiguration due next week and she didn't want to have to worry about it over the weekend.<p>

As she started on her essay, she felt someone walk up to her table. Looking up, she smiled at Dean Thomas, one of the few Gryffindors who had remained her friend through the entire resorting.

"Mind if I join you?" Dean asked her, with a goofy grin on his face. Smiling back at him, Hermione moved some of her books so he had room on the table as well.

"Are you working on Transfiguration as well?" Hermione asked. For once she was actually struggling with the essay they'd been assigned. None of the books she could find in the library had much information on the topic and it was driving her nuts.

"I'm actually just adding the finishing touches on mine." Hermione looked at Dean shocked, how could he have nearly finished it already?

"You're finished? Where did you find the information? I can't find it anywhere." Hermione was dying to know. She just needed to crank out this essay so she could relax. Dean pushed a thick book across the table towards Hermione.

"I've got the chapter bookmarked with all the information you'll need." Hermione flipped through the marked chapter. Dean was right, everything she needed and more was in there.

"Thank you so much!" Hermione gushed. "Where did you find this book?" Dean looked down at the table and rubbed the back of his neck, he seemed a little embarrassed.

"Actually, McGonagall let me borrow it from her library." Dean confessed. Hermione looked at him shocked, she'd never even been in McGonagall's library. "It's just, I'm doing an apprenticeship with her after graduation and I was already in there so when I saw it, I asked if I could borrow it."

"That's awesome! And congratulations on your apprenticeship. I'm doing one with Snape as well." The two students then turned back to their homework. For the next couple hours, the pair worked in silence, only speaking here and there. Hermione was surprised as to how comfortable the silence felt. Once they were finally finished, Hermione and Dean began packing up their books and prepared to head their separate ways.

"So Hermione," Dean spoke up, "I was wondering if you were planning on going to the Halloween ball?" A small smile crept onto Hermione's face as she realized who Blaise had been talking about this morning.

"Well I was planning on it," she answered coyly, "But I don't have a date." Dean grinned at her before stepping a little closer.

"That's great." Hermione tilted her head to the side in mock confusion. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to the ball with me?" Dean started to fidget a bit, his Gryffindor courage leaving him as he waited for Hermione's answer.

"I'd love to, Dean." Hermione flashed Dean a dazzling smile and stepped towards him. Dean wrapped his arms around her for a hug and she stood on her tip-toes to give him a light kiss on the cheek. She stepped back and started to head out of the library when Dean called out, stopping her.

"'Mione?" Hermione turned and waited for Dean to continue. "Would you maybe like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" Hermione smiled at Dean before remembering her plans with Daphne and Pansy.

"I'm going shopping with Daphne and Pansy so we can make ourselves look beautiful for the ball, but we could always meet up for lunch." Hermione suggested.

"That sounds good." Dean agreed. "Oh, and Hermione, you always look beautiful." He gave her a charming smile before leaving the library and heading back to Gryffindor common room. With a permanent smile etched onto her face, Hermione walked slowly towards the Slytherin common room. She needed to find the girls.

Unfortunately, neither Daphne nor Pansy were in the common room when she got there. Sighing, Hermione grabbed the books she needed and headed off to her last couple classes of the day. Dean remained firmly in the back of her mind throughout them.

After classes, Hermione headed to the Great Hall for dinner, hoping to meet her friends inside. Sure enough, the whole group was sitting in their normal spots at the Slytherin table. Hermione was shocked to see Draco sitting with them again. Recently he had been sitting with some of the other 7th years. Hermione moved to take her seat between Daphne and Theo, choosing to ignore the very knowing smirk Blaise had on his face. Scooping a little bit of food onto her plate, Hermione listened to the conversations flow around her. As she sipped her pumpkin juice, Hermione watched the owls swooping in. There were less tonight than there were in the morning but Hermione was still amazed at how they could all find the person they were looking for.

Hermione was yanked from her thoughts as an owl landed gently in front of her, clutching a rose and a card in it's beak. Blushing, Hermione removed them and fed the beautiful bird some crumbs off her plate. Hermione knew immediately who the note was from and she couldn't wait to read it.

_ Hello Beautiful._

_You made it so difficult to concentrate in my afternoon classes today. I can't wait for our lunch date Saturday. You'll have to show me your dress(or at least tell me the color) so I can match it. I hope you like the rose. I didn't know if it was sweet or cliche._

_ Yours Truly,_

_ Dean_

Hermione broke into a huge grin as she read her note. Hermione picked up the rose to smell it, but as she did so, she made a huge mistake. As Hermione picked up the rose, she dropped the letter onto the table, unknowingly giving the Slytherins around her the perfect chance to snap it up. It wasn't until Pansy and Daphne were giggling and 'awing' that Hermione realized what had happened.

"Give. It. Back." Hermione growled out. The girls just laughed at her while Blaise tried to get a hold of the letter.

"But 'Mione, it's so cute! And the rose is adorable. By the way, you can't show him your dress. It has to be a secret." Daphne paused for a moment, as if thinking, before shouting out, "Why didn't you tell us? When did this happen?" Blaise just smirked at Hermione again.

"So that's what all the excitement is about?" He drawled. "Is that all?" Hermione chucked a roll at Blaise but unfortunately his reflexes were too fast for her. "What was that for?" He asked laughing.

"Is that all?" Hermione mocked him. "How long have you known and why didn't you tell me?" Hermione wasn't exactly used to boys liking her. Victor Krum had show interest for a while, and then a muggle boy over the summer but that was it. "And I was going to tell you guys right after he asked me but you were no where to be found. So really, it's your own fault you didn't know." Pansy just scoffed at that idea as Blaise continued to laugh at her.

"Shut up Blaise!" Daphne screeched. "You didn't answer my other question 'Mione. _When _did this happen?" Hermione hesitated before answering, knowing that her answer was going to set off a whole new round of dramatics.

"Well, it happened during my free period... this morning." Hermione waited for their replies but she was met with just silence. She looked at Blaise but he just shook his head and held up three fingers. She watched as he dropped one finger, then two, then finally the third. Almost as if cued, the two Slytherin girls screamed out,

"WHAT?" Pansy just looked at Hermione surprised that no one had known until now. Daphne, on the other hand, continued. "This has been official for hours and no one told me? I can't believe it." Hermione blushed furiously as the girls screeching caught the attention of the entire Great Hall. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table to find Dean watching the scene. He was clearly amused as he was attempting to hold in his laughter. Narrowing her eyes at him, as soon as she was positive he was looking directly at her she mouthed two words.

"Save. Me." Quickly understanding the message, Dean stood from his seat and made his way across the Great Hall, drawing the stares of more than a few students. He casually walked over to Hermione before taking her hand.

"Hermione, would you walk with me? It's beautiful outside tonight." Ignoring the shocked looks of the other students and the knowing looks coming from her friends Hermione allowed Dean to help her up and lead her out of the Great Hall.

"I want details later!" Daphne hollered after them, causing the pair to burst out laughing as they exited. Had Hermione turned around though, she would have noticed a pair of gray eyes follow her out the door- the pain and heartbreak evident within their depths.

"Draco, mate, are you alright?" Seeing the hurt look in his friend's eyes, Blaise realized he probably should have given him fair warning. Though he still wouldn't admit it out loud, Draco had fallen for one Hermione Granger, and it seemed he was losing her long before he had her.


	7. A Dress and a Date

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did. Nope, that honor belongs to one J.K. Rowling. I'm merely playing with her creation.

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><p>The rest of the week flew by without much incident. It seemed that seeing Hermione with Dean had finally kicked Draco into high gear. He had been working harder than ever to get back into her good graces and made more progress in a few days than he had in weeks. Blaise and Pansy could see a huge difference in Draco, he was already much happier, just being friends with Hermione again, though Blaise was still waiting for Draco to say the words. He still hadn't admitted to anyone that he had feelings for Hermione. It was obvious to nearly everyone, everyone besides Hermione that is.<p>

By the end of the day Friday, the students were getting rowdy. It was nice out, tomorrow was a Hogsmeade weekend, and they wanted nothing more than to be out of class. When that final bell rang, students took off immediately. Books and bags were abandoned in the dorms, so the students could spend the rest of the afternoon out in the sun. Hermione met her little group of friends out by the lake. Whenever the weather was nice, they always sat under the same tree right on the edge of the lake. Today was no different. Soon enough the group was talking about anything and everything. Daphne was having the greatest time teasing Hermione about her date, though Blaise tried hard as he could to steer away from that subject. Draco might have been smiling, but he definitely wasn't as happy as he tried to seem. Soon enough, Daphne dropped the subject for good but only minutes later she was giggling all over again.

"What is it _now _Daphne?" Blaise cried, exasperated. It wasn't until he saw Hermione blush and break into a huge smile that he turned around. "Well speak of the devil." Blaise mumbled to himself. Walking towards the group was Dean Thomas himself.

"Hermione, fancy taking a walk around the lake with me?" Dean asked her, grinning. Hermione's smile grew even wider as she allowed him to help her up off the ground, giggling as she tripped and he caught her against his chest.

"Oi! Leave the flirting for when your alone." Blaise hollered at the new couple. Hermione just turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. As much as Blaise hated to see Draco hurting, he also couldn't help but notice how happy Hermione was. It sure wasn't making his job as their friend very easy.

"I just don't get it." Draco spoke up, not noticing the other four staring at him in shock. He was watching Hermione and Dean walk away hand in hand. Daphne, Pansy, Theo, and Blaise all held their breath, waiting for Draco to continue. "I was there for her. He just sat back silent as the entire school was calling her a slut, both to her face and behind her back. But I... I stood up for her. I defended her. I was there for her. Yet, it's him she's walking away with. Not me." Draco continued to watch the new couple walk around the lake and realized something. Dean was literally his opposite, in every way. In looks, in attitude, even in blood. Dean Thomas was nearly as different from Draco as he could be, and he was the one Hermione wanted. That thought hurt, more than Draco expected it to.

"She's happy mate. And I don't want you to change that." Draco's face fell even more as he finally turned from the couple to look at Blaise. "I want you to make her happier. Fight for her." A small smile graced Draco's face as he got Blaise's approval. Blaise wanted him to fight for her, and fight for her he would.

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><p>Shopping with Daphne and Pansy was worse than Hermione had ever dreamed. They dragged her into the most expensive boutiques, made her try on the most expensive dresses and only laughed when she complained about the price. They knew as well as she did that Blaise would be paying for her dress, no matter how much she protested.<p>

"You're my sister." He told her. "You'll be the best looking girl at the ball, so pick whatever dress you fall in love with. Don't even look at the price." Hermione had rolled her eyes but after arguing with him for twenty minutes, she realized she wasn't going to win. It had already been five hours since the girls started shopping and Hermione had been forced to make her lunch date with Dean, dinner. Pansy and Daphne already had picked out their dresses; Pansy's was a deep purple strapless with a sweetheart neckline and crystals under the bust. Daphne's was a little sexier, her gold sequin dress had a slight v-neck, a slit up to her thigh, and cut outs over the back and sides. It was absolutely beautiful and both girls dresses looked perfect on them. Hermione was beginning to worry they wouldn't find a dress for her though. She didn't fall in love with a single dress she had tried on yet.

Walking into what Hermione swore would be the last store of the day, the three girls split up. Each grabbing a few dresses for Hermione to try on. Looking at some of the dresses Daphne and Pansy picked out, Hermione shuddered. They weren't anything she would have picked out for herself, and she didn't think she could pull off the sexy styles.

"You guys are going to make me look like a whore!" Hermione whined from the dressing room. After nixing the first three dresses, Hermione finally walked out of the dressing room in a gown Daphne had chosen for her. The red dress was fitted with a slit that went up to her mid-thigh. The bodice of the gown had two triangle cut outs wrapping around her sides and meeting at a mass of sequins and crystals in the center. The edges of the cut outs and the straps were also lined with the beads and crystals. The back was almost completely open except for the crystal and bead straps holding the dress together.

Hermione, after watching them stare at her, began to freak out. "Is it really that bad?" She cried, "I mean, I know I'm not as skinny as you guys but I thought it was looked nice. I actually liked this one." Hermione began to walk back into her dressing room when a deep voice stopped her.

"You look so beautiful Mia. If you don't buy that dress, I'll do it." Draco spoke up from the doorway. Both Draco and Blaise were standing there, they had come to see if the girls were finally done. Daphne and Pansy came out of their shock and began gushing over Hermione.

"GET OUT!" The girls all screeched at once. The whole point of shopping alone was so the boys wouldn't see the dresses. Laughing, the two boys sprinted out of the shop ignoring the disapproving glances come from the shop owner.

Hermione quickly changed into her regular clothes, attempting to ignore the butterflies in her stomach that began fluttering after Draco called her beautiful. Gathering her dress, Hermione exited the dressing room and made her way up to the counter to pay. She just hoped the blush on her cheeks didn't give her away, unfortunately she missed the smug, knowing glance Pansy and Daphne exchanged behind her back.

As soon as the dresses were paid for, Hermione passed her's off to the other girls and with a quick glance at her watch, hurried out the door. She was already a few minutes late for her dinner date with Dean and she needed to meet him now. They were having dinner at a small new restaurant right on the edge of Hogsmeade. Hermione arrived outside of the restaurant, only about five minutes late. Dean was waiting for her outside and as soon as she got there they headed inside to eat.

Throughout dinner, Hermione constantly found her mind wandering- to her run in with Draco and Blaise at the dress shop, to Draco's constant attempts to get her to forgive him, to Draco's ability to get her to trust him even though she barely knew him. Attempting to shake Draco out of her mind, she deliberately turned her attention back to her date and reminded herself what a wonderful date he was being.

"So 'Mione. Tell me about this dress of yours." Dean said, smiling at her. Hermione just scoffed.

"Puh-lease. You should know better than that. The only information you are getting out of me is the color. It's a red dress." Dean just laughed. "What?" Hermione cried indignantly.

"Oh I'm not laughing at you. It's just, the Slytherin is wearing Gryffindor colors." Dean was still chuckling a bit, but now he was just worried about Hermione taking his laughter the wrong way.

"Well if you must know, there is also a bit of silver on my dress so my jewelry and shoes will are silver. So I'll have the colors from both houses than you very much." Hermione could only hold her serious face for so long before she too burst out laughing. The couple soon finished dinner and began their journey back to Hogwarts. As they walked through the corridors of Hogwarts Dean spoke up again,

"Can I show you something, Hermione?" Nodding, Hermione allowed herself to be led down a hall she'd never seen before. Rounding the corner, Hermione saw they had reached a dead end.

"Dean-?" Hermione began, but her question was cut off as Dean gently pushed her against the wall and claimed her mouth with his own. Hermione froze, and much to her horror Draco's face popped up in her mind. It wasn't until Dean began moving his hands from their spot on his waist that she came to her senses. Forcefully pushing him off, Hermione cried out indignantly,

"Stop it! Just, just don't touch me!" Hermione ran out of the corridor, her eyes welling with tears as she headed back to the common room. Seeing Blaise, Draco, Theo, and Pansy in the common room, Hermione just rushed past them without a word. Glancing at each other in horror, Pansy headed up the stairs right behind Hermione while one very upset blonde went out looking for a certain Gryffindor.


	8. A Confession

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did. Nope, that honor belongs to one J.K. Rowling. I'm merely playing with her creation.

**A/N: **I just would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate your responses. Every time I read about how one of you liked the story it makes my day. I'd also like to thank the readers who pointed out the inconsistencies and little mistakes I've missed, you help make my writing even better. :) Thanks again!

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><p>Draco stalked through the dark corridors. It seemed most students were already in their common rooms, but there was only one who Draco was looking for. As Draco neared the Gryffindor common room, he heard footsteps approaching from behind him and ducked into the shadows. Luck was favoring Draco that night as Dean Thomas himself walked around the corner. As soon as Dean passed Draco's hiding spot, he stepped out of the shadows, drawing his wand.<p>

"What the hell did you do to her?" Draco spat out, his wand aimed threateningly at the smug Gryffindor.

"Nothing that a better girl couldn't have handled." Dean smirked at Draco. "I guess I underestimated how much of the rumors were lies. I thought I could at least have a little fun." Draco growled low in his throat but Dean didn't seem to notice. "I never would've guessed she was still a frigid prissy little virgin." Red clouded Draco's vision as he lunged at the boy in front of him, his wand falling to the ground forgotten. With a sickening crack Draco's fist collided with Dean's nose, efficiently breaking it. Draco continued throwing punch after punch and Dean was helpless to do anything but try to block his face from Draco's continuing blows.

Finally, Draco stopped. Reaching for his wand, Draco levitated the unconscious student so he was laying in front of the portrait hole, ensuring someone would find him in the morning. He then headed back to the common room. Draco failed to notice the blood on his shirt and hands, all Dean's of course, as he walked back through the corridors. As he entered the Slytherin common room Pansy, Blaise, and Hermione all turned to look at him. The color drained out of Pansy's face as they just stared at him for a moment. Hermione was the first one of come out of her shock, jumping up and rushing over to where Draco was standing. She began fussing over him, looking for the cause of all the blood. Unable to find any wounds, Hermione began examining his bloody hands. Upon seeing his bruised and battered knuckles, Hermione slowly backed away from Draco, her eyes growing wide.

"What did you do?" She whispered. Draco stepped towards her and his heart fell as she flinched away from him.

"Mia..." He started.

"What did you do?" She cried, much louder this time. Draco hated the way she was looking at him, and he could tell she was thinking the worst.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Mia." Draco began, his voice shook as he realized he may have just lost her for good. "You came back so upset and I was just going to talk to him, I swear. But the things he said about you, he was so smug about it. I lost my temper. Please forgive me Mia, I had only planned on threatening him, but hearing everything he said. I just couldn't control myself. I'm so sorry, please. Mia." Draco's voice trailed off as he thought about what he'd done. He wasn't sorry for attacking Dean, but he was terrified that Hermione was going to think he was a monster.

Much to Draco's surprise, Hermione stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's alright Draco." Hermione could feeling Draco shaking so she just held him tighter, smiling when he wrapped his arms around her in return. "I'm not happy about it, but I understand. It'll be alright, I promise, we'll fix this." Hermione unwrapped herself from Draco but grabbed his hand with her own as she turned to Blaise. "Will you go get Dean and take him to the hospital wing?" Blaise nodded and left the common room in search of the Gryffindor. "Come on Draco, we need to go talk to McGonagall." Seeing Draco pale Hermione quickly reassured him. "She's fair Draco. And it will be better if we go to her now. I'll go with you, I promise I won't leave you." Nodding his consent, Draco allowed himself to be lead to the Headmistress's office.

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><p>Two long emotional hours later after speak to Mcgonagall, Snape, and after both professors had spoke to Dean, Draco and Hermione were leaving Mcgonagall's office. Slytherin had lost 100 house points and Draco would be serving two months of detention with Snape, but he felt he had gotten off easy. After hearing Hermione tell her side of the story, Dean had admitted that he had given reason for Draco to attack him. Both professors agreed, but they also agreed that there were much better ways for Draco to have handled it. All of the students involved agreed that what had happened that night would not be spoke of with any other students and took a vow to ensure their silence.<p>

As Draco and Hermione walked back to the dungeons they remained in a comfortable silence. As they grew nearer to the common room, Draco gently grabbed Hermione's hand, stopping her.

"Thank you. For everything you've done tonight." Draco looked at the ground before looking back at Hermione. "I imagine I wouldn't have gotten off nearly as easy had you not been on my side."

"It was nothing Draco. I would've done it for anyone. I still don't quite understand why you lost your temper like you did though." Draco ran his hand through his silky blonde hair before attempting to explain.

"Listening to Dean say that there was someone better, say that you weren't good enough, call you those things. It- it made me so mad. He had what I wanted and he didn't even see it." Draco's voice gradually became softer as he finished his explanation, unsure of how Hermione would take his admission. His head snapped up to meet her eyes as she started giggling, the hurt showing clearly in his. Stifling her laughter, Hermione stepped closer to Draco and laid her hand against his cheek.

"My Dragon," She whispered smiling, "why didn't you tell me?" After hearing Hermione use his nickname for the first time since their fight Draco smiled back at her, his confidence growing. Before Draco had a chance to answer, Hermione stepped up onto her tiptoes and gently placed her lips on his. The kiss- their first kiss- was gentle and sweet. They slowly pulled away, smiling at each other before continuing towards the common room hand in hand.

They walked into the common room where their friends were anxiously waiting to see if Draco was going to be expelled but their questions died on their lips as they saw the smiling pair holding hands.

"Finally!" Pansy cried out. "I was beginning to think I was going to have to lock you two in a broom closet. I didn't think Hermione was ever going to stop being so oblivious but at least now Draco can stop moping." The whole group laughed as Draco and Hermione both blushed. After talking for a bit, the group decided it was time to head up to bed. As Hermione stood, Draco followed her, walking her across the common room to the staircase leading up to her dorm.

"So Mia," Draco began, "Just to make this official, would you go to the ball with me?" Draco smirked at her, but Hermione noticed his smirk was softer, more natural than the sneer she was used to seeing.

"I'd love to Dragon." Hermione whispered before Draco leaned down for a kiss. This time, the couple deepened their kiss until Blaise coughed unhappily in the background. Blushing Hermione looked over at their friends, Blaise looked annoyed but he had a small smile on his face. Pansy and Daphne looked positively ecstatic and Hermione made a mental note not to talk to them alone anytime soon. Turning back to Draco, Hermione wished him goodnight and pecked him on the lips on more before heading to bed. Draco just watched her go, whispering goodnight to her back as the door to her dorm closed behind her.


	9. Caught! and a Party

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did. Nope, that honor belongs to one J.K. Rowling. I'm merely playing with her creation.

**A/N: **Sorry the last chapter was so short! Anyway, I think I'm nearing the end of this fanfic... depending on the feedback I get at the end I may or may not write a sequel. I'd like to thank all my readers though and let you know I have one possibly two fanfics planned to write after I finish this one.

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><p>The rest of the week went by without incident. As the days went on, the students got more and more excited for the upcoming dance. By Friday afternoon, the professors had completely given up trying to teach anything. It was clear that the only thing the kids were focusing on was the ball. Draco and Hermione were spending almost ever waking moment together and Blaise, Daphne, and Pansy were getting a little annoyed.<p>

"Okay, we know you guys wasted a bunch of time denying your feelings and all that, but really? This evening, Hermione you're coming with us and Draco is going with Blaise. As fun as it is to see the Gryffindors choke when you walk into the Great Hall hand in hand, you need some separation tonight." Daphne cried out as the group sat around the common room Friday afternoon.

"Seriously." Blaise interrupted, "you guys have been together nonstop. I haven't even gotten a chance to threaten Draco yet." Blaise turned towards Hermione, catching the glare she was sending his way. "Don't look at me that way Mya. You're my sister, the only family I have anymore, and while Draco is my best mate, I'm not above threatening him with a little bodily harm." Blaise smirked when he saw Draco pale just a bit.

"Stop it Blaise." Hermione scolded, snuggling into Draco a little bit more. Sighing, Hermione turned to face Daphne, "And what would we be doing tonight?" She asked warily. Squealing, Daphne and Pansy squeezed onto the same couch Draco and Hermione were occupying, and began animatedly discussing their plans for the night. Draco caught the words Room of Requirement, girls only, Ravenclaw, and butterbeer. Tuning out the girls, Draco turned to Blaise.

"Our night's going to be a little more low-key." Blaise assured him. "Just you, me, Theo, and a night in here." Blaise lowered his voice and looked over at the girls, "Theo managed to sneak in some firewhiskey too." Draco smirked at Blaise

"So when does our night start?" Draco asked the girls eagerly. Blaise chuckled to himself when he saw the look on Hermione's face.

"That antsy to get rid of me?" Hermione smirked back at Draco. Missing the sarcasm lacing her words, Draco quickly began attempting to reassure Hermione that he would never want to get rid of her, not even stopping when everyone else started laughing at him.

"As adorable and sweet as that is Dragon, I was just kidding. But to answer your question, our night starts now. Pansy and Daphne are going to get everything set up, I'm going to get ready, and then they will be back here to get me." Hermione placed a quick kiss on Draco's cheek before rushing up to her room to get ready for their 'sleepover.' When Hermione walked back into the common room, the boys were shocked to see what she was wearing.

"Oh!" Hermione squeaked, blushing, "I thought you guys would have left by now." She quickly moved to grab her robe which was draped over the back of the couch. Draco grabbed Hermione around the waist and pulled her onto his lap, nuzzling his nose against the side of her neck and breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Hermione blushed furiously as she realized just how short her pajama shorts really were and just how tight her t-shirt was. Embarrassed, Hermione began wriggling around in an attempt to get up from Draco's lap. She froze as she heard the door shut, and Hermione realized that she and Draco were alone in the common room. Draco must have realized it to because he began placing kisses along the side of Hermione's neck. Sighing contentedly, Hermione relaxed back against Draco, raising her arms to run her fingers through his hair. Draco shifted their position so Hermione was still straddling his lap, but now she was facing Draco. He pulled her flush against him and wrapped his arms around her waist keeping her close. Hermione wound her arms around his neck and threaded her fingers through his hair again.

When Daphne and Pansy walked back into the common room, they were met with quite the sight. Hermione was laying on the couch with Draco above her, both looking thoroughly snogged and neither looking like they were planning on stopping anytime soon.

"Ahem!" Daphne coughed as she and Pansy tried to contain their laughter. Hermione's head snapped in their direction and she began blushing as she realized the position they'd been caught in. Draco lazily looked over at the giggling pair of girls before collapsing against Hermione and groaning into her shoulder. He was quite disappointed that they had been interrupted.

"You should just be happy it was us who found you, and not Blaise. I don't think he would appreciate seeing his sister being defiled by you Draco." Pansy said, laughing even harder. "Now get up Draco, and give us our little party girl. I'm interested in seeing if she's still blushing by the dance tomorrow night." At this Hermione blushed even harder and she could feel Draco chuckling against her.

Reluctantly, Draco lifted himself off of Hermione and helped her up from the couch. Daphne and Pansy just looked at each other in understanding.

"Nice pajamas Hermione." Pansy said, winking.

"At least now we know what got Draco all worked up." Daphne said, sending the two girls into another fit of laughter. This time though, Hermione wasn't the only one blushing. Draco had a faint pink hue on his cheeks as well. Rolling her eyes, Hermione wrapped her robe around herself and gave Draco a quick kiss before stepping away from him and heading towards the girls.

"Let's go you too." Hermione said, waiting for the girls to stop laughing. Not ten seconds later Blaise entered the common room to find a blushing Hermione, an amused Draco, and two girls laughing hysterically.

"What in the world is going on?" Blaise cried out, wondering what he had missed.

"Well you see," Daphne began, looking positively evil. "Pansy and I walked in here only to find-"

"Nothing!" Hermione yelled over Daphne, her eyes wide. "They found absolutely nothing." Hermione knew Pansy was 100% correct in her earlier assumption. They were very lucky that Blaise hadn't caught them in their... position. "Let's go you guys. We have a party to get to. Remember? Separation. You all seemed to eager for it earlier." Behind Hermione, Draco was starting to laugh as well. Whipping around to face him Hermione cried out, "You're not helping!" Draco stifled his laughter as best he could and walked over to Hermione. He wrapped her in a hug and whispered in her ear,

"I'm sorry love. You're just so adorable." Hermione rolled her eyes and moved away from Draco, ready to drag Daphne and Pansy out of the portrait hole if she had to.

"Oh I don't think so." Blaise stopped Hermione as she moved to walk past him. "I want to know what was going on here."

"Don't worry about it, Blaise." Hermione didn't want Blaise's 'big brother' attitude to kick in on the one night where Draco was stuck spending the entire night here with Blaise.

"I am worried about it though, Mya." Blaise was beginning to look concerned now. Hermione never hid anything from him, but now all of a sudden she was? It just wasn't like her.

"Blaise, you know what you should do tonight?" Pansy asked, ignoring the pleading look she was getting from Hermione. "You should teach Draco that contraceptive charm you know so well." Blaise's eyes grew wide and the blood drained out of his face as he turned from Hermione to Draco and back again.

"We weren't having sex!" Hermione cried, past the point of embarrassment. "We were only snogging!"

"Horizontally." Daphne coughed. Blaise looked furious as he rounded on Draco, and Draco glanced at his wand laying on the coffee table. He was trying to judge whether or not he could get to his wand before Blaise hexed him.

"Just stop it!" Hermione hollered. "I've caught you all either snogging or more with at least one person! I'm 18 Blaise! I am of age and I can make my own decisions. Draco and I were not going to have sex on a couch in the common room. But if we did decided to have sex, it would be in such a public place and it would NOT be any of your bloody business!" Hermione stormed out of the common room, leaving behind three guilty Slytherins and one who just seemed to be in shock.

"Shit!" Daphne exclaimed as she and Pansy rushed out of the common room after Hermione. Blaise and Draco remained in silence for a moment before Blaise began muttering, seemingly to himself,

"I just wanted to protect her. I didn't want to see her hurt again." Blaise was shaking his head, obviously realizing his overreaction.

"Blaise, I just want you to know I'd never take advantage of her. I- I think I'm falling in love with her." Draco assured Blaise quietly, not missing the small smile that spread across his face at the confession. Blaise turned to look at Draco and was shocked by what he saw. For the first time since before the war, Draco looked truly happy and content. Blaise could tell that Draco was telling the truth, he really was falling in love with Mya. Smiling more openly, Blaise motioned for Draco to follow him up to the dorms.

"Well then, we've got a party to get to." He said, smirking at Draco. Draco heaved a sigh of release as he realized Blaise wasn't upset with him any longer, and followed Blaise- excited to get smashed with him and Theo.

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><p>Daphne and Pansy managed to get Hermione to forgive them quite easily. Considering she wasn't worrying about what Blaise would think anymore, she could easily see the humor they had found in the situation. The girls made their way to the Room of Requirement and Hermione was shocked at what she found. 7th year girls from Slytherin and Ravenclaw both filled the room, there were about a dozen or so girls. The floor was littered with blankets and pillows, and two large tables were pushed to the side, both of the covered with junk food and drinks. Like Hermione, everyone was in their pajamas, and at the moment were sitting in a circle on the floor.<p>

"Finally!" One of the girls cried out from the circle. "We have been waiting on you guys. We were thinking we would start with a game of Never Have I Ever, and then play truth or dare." Quickly agreeing with the suggestions, Hermione, Daphne, and Pansy took their places in the circle and the game began. The game started off easy, and very few people were taking drinks of their butterbeer with each question.

"Never have I ever... gotten smashed." Luna said on her turn. A few of the girls had to drink on this one, most surprisingly Hermione took a drink as well.

"When?" Pansy asked incredulously. Laughing Hermione explained how Blaise had neglected to inform her at the celebration after the end of the war that her fruity little drink was laced with alcohol. The rest of the group laughed as Hermione finished her story. When it got to Pansy's turn, Hermione still had only drank on the one question. Pansy had a glint in her eye that made Hermione worry about what exactly her statement would be.

"Never have I ever... gotten caught in a compromising position with a guy." Immediately after she finished talking, Pansy took a quick swig of her butterbeer causing the other girls to laugh a little.

"That is so not fair!" Hermione cried, before taking a drink of her own butterbeer. Pansy and Daphne laughed as all the other girls looked at Hermione like she had grown three heads.

"Would someone please explain. I mean, no offense, but you are the last person I would have expected to drink on that one 'Mione." Luna asked dreamily. Pansy and Daphne quickly explained as Hermione turned red once again. The two girls didn't forget to include Blaise's reaction and Hermione's little blow up either. All of the girls were doubled over in fits of laughter by the end of the story.

"You guys exaggerated that." Hermione mumbled, as she tried to hide her blushing face.

"We did not." Daphne argued. "Besides, I don't even see why you're embarrassed. Draco is so crazy about you it's almost sickening, but it's also adorable." Hermione smiled contentedly and the girls went back to their game. The group of girls played games, gossiped, and laughed until they crashed around four in the morning. Hermione slept with a smile on her face as Draco's face invaded her dreams all night.


	10. The Perfect Night

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in this story. As much as I wish I did. Nope, that honor belongs to one J.K. Rowling. I'm merely playing with her creation.

**A/N: **I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been trying my best but last week I had my final exams so the last two weeks have been nothing but work and studying for me. I'm on winter break now though so I hope to finish this before I go back to school. Please keep reviewing! It makes me so happy to see how many people are enjoying my story. Also, if you want me to write a sequel you'll have to let me know at the end. :) I'd be happy to write one. I'm already brainstorming ideas.

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><p>"Wakey wakey, Mione!" Hermione groaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillows. This reaction only served to annoy Pansy who then began hitting her with another pillow.<p>

"Get up dammit! It's already noon and we need to get ready for the ball." Daphne apparently didn't get enough sleep either as she snapped at Hermione grumpily. At the mention of the ball though, Hermione instantly perked up and a smile lit up her face. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You get a whole romantic evening with Draco." Daphne smirked and rolled her eyes and the glowing girl in front of her. "But you don't get your fairytale if you don't get your lazy arse out of bed. We need to get back to our dorms to get ready."

"We have to get ready now?" Hermione whined, "it's only noon though." The girls headed down the nearly deserted corridors, noticing that only guys seemed to be out and about. Apparently the girls were already getting ready.

"Yes now." Pansy stated impatiently, "apparently Draco is rubbing off on you though, quite whining." Daphne just laughed in agreement with Pansy, their friend was spending a little too much time with her new boyfriend.

"Besides, don't you need to make yourself beautiful for Draco?" Daphne smirked as she watched Hermione's eyes go wide, realizing how much she really had to do. Hermione was just about to open her mouth to reply when a deep voice cut her off.

"She's already the most beautiful girl in the school." Draco and Blaise stepped out from the shadows, causing the girls to shriek. Daphne smacked Draco's arm for scaring them while Hermione just blushed. Draco was always complimenting her like that but she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to it.

"What are you guys doing?" Pansy asked suspiciously. She thought the boys were going to go play quidditch today while the girls got ready.

"Looking for you three apparently." Blaise replied, more than a little annoyed. "Love bird over here has a gift." Hermione looked over at Draco, her eyes lighting up immediately. "See, I told you it was a bad idea mate. You shouldn't spoil her, she'll think she needs a gift every time you guys see each other." Hermione stuck her tongue out at Blaise childishly, causing the entire group to laugh at her.

"You didn't have to get me anything Dragon." Hermione said quietly, slipping her hand into his and intertwining their fingers. Draco just smiled at her and pulled a box out of his bag. Hermione quickly let go of Draco's hand and opened the box, gasping as she saw what was inside. Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at Draco who was rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"I... um... I wanted you to have it. It's... It's a family heirloom, and one of the only things I have of my mother's. I saw the earrings in the store and thought they'd go with it, and your dress perfectly." The tears that had been gathering in Hermione's eyes escaped and a few made their way down her cheeks. Draco looked horrified, "It's alright if you don't like it Mia. Really, I won't be mad. Just please don't cry." He was about to step forward and take the box from her hands when he noticed the smile on her face. He turned to Blaise and the girls confused.

"Oh you dolt!" Pansy cried out. "She's happy! Those are happy tears." Throwing her hands in the air, she stalked off towards the common room mumbling, "how she puts up with you I'll never know." Chuckling, Blaise and Daphne followed her, giving the glowing couple a minute alone.

"I better see you in 5 minutes Mione!" Daphne called over her shoulder. "Or else I'll send Blaise to come find you!" Draco and Hermione laughed at Daphne's threat before falling silent once again. Hermione looked back down at the jewelry box she was holding. Nestled in the green velvet was a beautiful bracelet. It had two rows of flawless diamonds resting in a band of white gold. The earrings that Draco had spoken of were just as beautiful, white gold with small diamond stud. From the diamond hung a teardrop-shaped ruby. Draco was right, they would go perfectly with her dress. Hermione looked up from the box meeting Draco's eyes for just a moment before she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her smile grew even larger as he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her mess of curls.

"This means so much to me, my Dragon." Hermione whispered into Draco's chest. The fact that he was giving her, of all people, a Malfoy family heirloom showed just how much things had changed..

"You know," Draco pulled away a bit so he could look Hermione in the face, "I never thought I'd give anyone anything of my mother's. She was so picky when it came to me, she just wanted me to find someone who would be perfect for me." Hermione worriedly caught her bottom teeth between her lips, thinking she could never live up to the standards Mrs. Malfoy had set for her son. Draco caught her chin with his hand, pulling her up so she was looking into his eyes again, "She would have loved you Mia. I wish you could have met her, she was nothing like my father." Hermione's eyes grew wide as realization dawned over her. No one had ever said what had happened to the Malfoy's after the war and she hadn't wanted to upset Draco by asking. Draco could see the wheels turning in Hermione's head as she attempted to figure out what he was talking about. Smiling Draco took Hermione's hand and headed towards their common room, "It's a story for another time. And I promise I will tell you, but now is not the time. Now you need to go get ready, I'm sure the girls are getting ready to send Blaise out right now." Laughing the pair walk through the portrait hole just as Blaise was heading out.

"Awww... I wanted to go hunting." Blaise whined, putting on the most pathetic puppy dog face Hermione had ever seen. Rolling her eyes, Hermione ignored Blaise and headed up to the dorms with the other two girls. Luckily for them, they had a whole bathroom to themselves today so they would have plenty of room to get ready.

As soon as the three girls entered their dorms, Pansy and Daphne turned on Hermione. Both girls had the most sinister Slytherin plotting smirks on their faces and Hermione began slowly backing towards the door.

"I don't think so!" Daphne yelled, pouncing on Hermione, who screamed in response. "You're first." She whispered into Hermione's ear evilly. Downstairs in the common room, the boys looked at each other worriedly before taking off. They did not want to be involved in this mess.

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><p>Five long hours later, the girls were finally ready. The girls had had more fun working on Hermione than they had getting ready themselves. Her hair hung in sleek ringlets which were pinned to one side, and her make-up was sexy but still subtle. Pansy had her hair in a simple up-do and her make-up was just as simple, giving her dress the spotlight. Daphne's hair had been transformed into a wild style of crazy, but incredibly sexy curls. With one last coating of hairspray and a spritz of perfume, the girls were finally ready to go meet their dates. Hermione gently removed her new bracelet and earrings from their box and put them on before turning to the girls and smiling- It was time to go.<p>

The boys were banished from the common room, seeing as the other girls weren't going with Slytherin, they wanted all of their dates to see them at the same time. Pansy was going to Justin, who was, surprisingly enough, a Gryffindor. Daphne was going with Cormac McLaggen. Hermione had tried to warn her against that one but Daphne swore he'd changed and was less of a pig.

All three of the girls had become a bubbling mixture of excitement and nerves as they prepared to meet the boys in the corridor. They paused for a minute at the portrait hole, taking a minute to giggle and take a deep breath before Daphne and Pansy turned to walk out, Hermione following close behind them. Outside the common room, they found the boys leaning against the wall across from them. Blaise already had his arm draped around his date, a sixth year Ravenclaw, and all the conversation came to a halt as the girls entered the hall.

Draco saw Hermione and quite literally forgot to breath. She looked so amazing in her curve-hugging dress, and his smile grew even bigger when he saw that she was wearing the jewelry he'd given her. It felt a wave of possessiveness wash over him, because she was wearing one of his family heirlooms. He had the fleeting image of her wearing his quidditch jersey with his name on the back flash through his mind. He was torn from his thoughts by Blaise who elbowed him in the side, and nudged him towards his date. Finally remembering to breath, Draco glanced around and noticed everyone else was heading towards the Great Hall with their dates. Catching Blaise's eye, Draco nodded at him, a silent thanks for giving him another moment alone with Hermione. He turned back to Hermione who was watching him with a small smile on her face, blushing prettily.

"I had prepared myself for being with the most beautiful girl here tonight, but nothing could have prepared me for this." Draco handed Hermione the single red rose he'd almost forgotten he was holding, smiling as she raised it to her nose to smell it. "You are so beyond beautiful tonight, I don't even know how to describe it." Hermione blushed once again as she leaned forward to place a kiss on Draco's cheek.

"Oh, Dragon." She sighed, wrapping her arms around him. She mumbled something else into his jacket but Draco couldn't quite make it out.

"What was that Mia?" Draco asked, pulling away so her voice wouldn't be so muffled. Hermione just smiled gently and shook her head.

"Nothing, Dragon. Let's go down to the dance, okay?" Draco agreed without question and allowed her to take his hand and led him towards the Great Hall, where their friends and classmates were already dancing.

As they walked, Draco realized something. He hadn't questioned her once, merely accepting that if she wanted to tell him she would. He allowed her to led him towards the Great Hall, ending their intimate conversation without feeling an ounce of annoyance. Simply seeing her tonight had taken his breath, and speech, away. It became painfully obvious to Draco that sometime, over the course of the last year, he had fallen in love with the muggleborn witch who was currently on his arm. Never in his life, had a single thought made Draco as happy as he was in the moment.

When the couple finally joined their friends in the Great Hall, the dance was already in full swing. Upon entering the large room, Hermione gasped. The hall had been completely transformed for this dance. Hermione had never seen it look so beautiful.

"Like my decorations?" Blaise suddenly appeared behind Hermione and Draco, effectively causing Hermione to jump.

"Stop doing that!" She glared at him before she looked around her in awe. "You did all of this?" She couldn't believe it. She looked back and Blaise who was looking a little guilty. "You didn't do it, did you?"

"Well, Hannah may have done most of it." Blaise said shrugging. Laughing Draco knocked his shoulder against the other boy.

"You pathetic excuse for a Head Boy." He said, poking fun at the blushing Italian.

"Oh hush. I'm sure Blaise helped." Hermione turned to Blaise smiling. "It looks amazing Blaise, really."

"So do you Mya." Blaise said, pulling Hermione in for a hug. "Have fun tonight, alright?" He whispered in her ear.

"Oi! If you're done stealing _my _girl's attention." Draco interrupted, blushing slightly as the two laughed at him. Rolling his eyes, Draco made to pull Hermione out of Blaise's arms and into his own but Blaise just held her tighter.

"You're not jealous are you mate?" Blaise said smirking. His smirk didn't last long though when Hermione dug her high heel into the top of Blaise foot, causing him to yelp and jump away.

"Shame on you Blaise. Play fair." Hermione stood in the middle of the two boys, waiting for Blaise to quite whining about his foot.

"Play fair?" He cried out, "and how is stabbing me with your bloody high heel playing fair!" Hermione just laughed and shrugged.

"What can I say," she smirked, "you Slytherins are rubbing off on me." Laughing Hermione turned to Draco only to find him bowing slightly and holding out his hand.

"Care for a dance, my fair maiden?" Draco took a hold of Hermione's hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles. Hermione blushed happily for a moment, not missing the looks of envy sent to her from many of the other girls at the dance.

"I'd love to dear sir." Hermione said, giggling, and allowed Draco to led her to the center of the dance floor. After dancing for a while, Hermione's feet were beginning to bother her so Draco led her to one of the many tables surrounding the dance floor and went to get them drinks. Not moments after Draco had left, Hermione felt someone sit down besides her. Hermione turned expecting to see Draco besides her.

"Back already-" Hermione fell silent and her eyes grew wide as she saw who was sitting next to her. The unruly black hair and glasses were something she hadn't seen up close all year.

"I know you don't want to talk to me, and to be honest, I really don't blame you." Harry began, unable to meet her eyes. As he continued talking though, his voice grew more confident. "I'd like to talk to you though. I'm also asking that you listen. Just give me a minute and then, if you want, I won't talk to you again." Hermione looked across the room, towards the punch, trying to find Draco. She was surprised to see him standing with Blaise, just watching her. Blaise nodded at her encouragingly and Hermione could tell that Draco was trying his hardest not to scowl at the boy sitting next to her. Turning back to Harry, Hermione took a deep breath.

"Okay." She consented. "Talk." Smiling slightly, Harry paused, trying to decide where to begin.

"I don't know why I reacted the way I did." He told her, finally looking into her eyes. Hermione was surprised to see the anguish and guilt that was showing through his bright green eyes. "I suppose I was a little jealous." Hermione looked at him shocked, and was about to retort when he held up his hand, silencing her. "Please just let me get this out. It's already harder than I thought it would be. I promise you can yell at me, slap me, anything. Just let me finish." Smiling, Hermione nodded to signal for him to continue.

"I was jealous Hermione. Even before this whole resorting happened, it seemed you were replacing us with Blaise. You'd found someone else to be your brother and we, Ron and I, were afraid we were going to lose you. Then you walk into the common room and told us that you were transferring and we were thrown for a loop. It was supposed to be our first normal year here at Hogwarts. No one trying to kill us, nothing to worry about. I think that's why we reacted so badly that night." Harry paused and took a few deep breaths before continuing. "What we did after that was inexcusable though, and I wouldn't blame you for hating us for it. One night in the tower Ron and Seamus started throwing comments back and forth. Comments about you, and the other Slytherins. I should have just stopped them then, I should have stood up for you. But I was still feeling a little hurt and abandoned, I thought you were replacing me as your wand brother, so I just headed up to the dorms, leaving them to talk in the common room. I guess their conversation drew the attention of a few others and the next thing I knew, everyone had turned against you. I was afraid. I didn't want to lose my other wand brother. So I went along with it." Harry looked down, ashamed, and Hermione waited for him to continue. When he didn't she figured it was safe to talk. Pulling Harry into a hug, Hermione whispered against his neck,

"I forgive you Harry." Harry pulled away from her, unbelieving.

"I don't deserve anyone's forgiveness." He said sadly, shaking his head. "I just I really needed you to know."

"I know you don't deserve my forgiveness Harry," Hermione said kindly, taking his hands in hers, "but that's the great thing about siblings. Sometimes you find yourself forgiving them simply because you love them, not because they deserve it." Harry beamed at Hermione as tears filled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was lucky enough to have someone like her in his life. He truly didn't deserve her at all. "Things won't go back to normal right away, but we can work on it Harry. I want you in my life. We'll just have to work back to where we were." Harry just continued to smile at her.

"I wouldn't ask for anything more." Harry's smile faltered a little, "About Ron, I don't think he is willing to admit he was wrong yet." Hermione just shook her head.

"Ron and I were never as close as you and I were Harry." Hermione began sadly, "it will be a long time before we are even close to where we were. But when he's willing to try, I will be too." Harry and Hermione bother stood, realizing their conversation was over, for now, and watching Draco and Blaise make their way over to them.

"You love him don't you?" Harry asked out of nowhere. Nodding, Hermione admitted it out loud for the first time.

"I really do." Hermione took Harry's hand again, beaming, "I'm really happy Harry." Harry pulled Hermione in for one last hug.

"I couldn't wish for anything else." He said as he pulled away. "You look beautiful tonight, by the way."

"Thanks Harry. And thanks for talking to me tonight. Maybe sometime soon we can catch up. You've missed a lot this year, and I figure I have as well." Smiling Harry turned to the boys who had finally reached them.

"Thank you for allowing me to steal a little bit of her time tonight." Turning to Draco directly Harry spoke once more, "Take care of her." Nodding, Draco wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist pulling her close,

"I plan on it. I'll take care of her for as long as she'll have me." Hermione's eyes grew wide. Sure, she had known that Draco liked her but besides for that statement, the bracelet he had given her was the only sign that he wanted her around for the long haul. Harry excused himself for the night, and Hermione watched him leave the Great Hall before rounding on Blaise.

"Did you plan that?" She asked him suspiciously.

"No, Mya, I didn't. He asked Draco here if he could talk to you. I just made sure Draco didn't go back on his word and gave you two a chance to talk." Smiling widely, Hermione hugged both boys.

"I could tell how much it bothered you that you didn't have him in your life anymore." Draco said, shrugging, "no matter how hard you tried to hide it. I'd catch you staring at him in class, or during meals. You missed him and I just wanted you to be happy." Draco smirk, laughter causing the corners of his lips to twitch a bit. "Even if it means I have to put up with Potter a little bit." That statement caused them to all burst out laughing and Hermione leaned into Draco, feeling the laughter rumble in his chest.

"Well, know that the reunion is over, I do believe I have a date to go find. If you'll excuse me." Blaise headed back to the table where Daphne, Pansy, and his date were sitting. Hermione watched him go, smiling, before turning back to Draco.

"Thank you, Dragon." Hermione said, burying her face in his chest once more, and breathing in his scent.

"It was no problem." Draco replied, wrapping his arms around her small frame. "Say, would you go for a walk with me?" Hermione nodded and silently followed Draco out of the Great Hall, ignoring Blaise's eyes which were attempting to burn a hole in her back. Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he led her towards the black lake. Sitting underneath a tree by the water's edge, Draco pulled Hermione into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. As Hermione relaxed against him, Draco rested his chin on top of her head. He loved how how much smaller she was than him, it made him feel like he could protect her from the world and she fit perfectly in his lap.

"I've had a really good night tonight." Draco cursed himself slightly. That hadn't been what he was planning on telling her.

"Me too." Hermione murmured. "It's so beautiful out tonight." She whispered.

"Yeah, you are." Draco said, causing Hermione to look up at him, blushing. Draco raised his hand to her cheek, "and your adorable when you blush like that." Draco smiled at her. He started to say something else, but stopped and looked back over the lake. Hermione chewed on her bottom lip before taking his face in his hands and turning him so he was looking at her again.

"Draco," She began, pausing to take a deep breath as she willed the butterflies to leave her stomach. "I think I've fallen in love with you my Dragon." Hermione refused to let her eyes leave his, summoning all the Gryffindor courage she had left. His eyes grew wide before he smiled down at her, leaning forward to capture her lips with his own.

"I love you too." Draco whispered against her lips, not giving her a chance to respond before pulling her back in for another kiss.

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><p><strong>AN:** I think this might be the end. That makes me kind of sad actually. I have a few other ideas that I could use to continue this story but I feel like if I added another conflict now it would just be dragging the story on unnecessarily. Please, Please, PLEASE review. Let me know what you thought of the store and let me know if you'd like a sequel. If no one wants a sequel, I may move on to writing a different fanfic all together instead of starting a sequel. I'd also love some critical feedback.

Thanks again to all my readers. You mean so much to me, and the feedback I've gotten so far made me really enjoy continuing this story. Considering this was my first fanfic, I know I have room for improvement but your feedback has made me want to continue writing.


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